See you yond coign o’ the Capitol, yond cornerstone?
See you yond coign o’ the Capitol, yond cornerstone?
See you yond coign o’ the Capitol, yond cornerstone?
see you yond coign o’ the capitol, yond cornerstone?
Why, what of that?
Why, what of that?
Why, what of that?
why, what of that?
If it be possible for you to displace it with your little finger, there
is some hope the ladies of Rome, especially his mother, may prevail
with him. But I say there is no hope in’t. Our throats are sentenced
and stay upon execution.
If it be possible for you to displace it with your little finger, there is some hope the ladies of Rome, especially his mother, may prevail with him. But I say there is no hope in’t. Our throats are sentenced and stay upon execution.
If it be possible for you to displace it with your little finger, there is some hope the ladies of Rome, especially his mother, may prevail with him. But I say there is no hope in’t. Our throats are sentenced and stay upon execution.
if it be possible for you to displace it with your little fi
Is’t possible that so short a time can alter the condition of a man?
Is’t possible that so short a time can alter the condition of a man?
Is’t possible that so short a time can alter the condition of a man?
is’t possible that so short a time can alter the condition o
There is differency between a grub and a butterfly, yet your butterfly
was a grub. This Martius is grown from man to dragon. He has wings;
he’s more than a creeping thing.
There is differency between a grub and a butterfly, yet your butterfly was a grub. This Martius is grown from man to dragon. He has wings; he’s more than a creeping thing.
There is differency between a grub and a butterfly, yet your butterfly was a grub. This Martius is grown from man to dragon. He has wings; he’s more than a creeping thing.
there is differency between a grub and a butterfly, yet your
He loved his mother dearly.
He loved his mother dearly.
He loved his mother dearly.
he loved his mother dearly.
So did he me; and he no more remembers his mother now than an
eight-year-old horse. The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes. When
he walks, he moves like an engine, and the ground shrinks before his
treading. He is able to pierce a corslet with his eye, talks like a
knell, and his hum is a battery. He sits in his state as a thing made
for Alexander. What he bids be done is finished with his bidding. He
wants nothing of a god but eternity and a heaven to throne in.
So did he me; and he no more remembers his mother now than an eight-year-old horse. The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes. When he walks, he moves like an engine, and the ground shrinks before his treading. He is able to pierce a corslet with his eye, talks like a knell, and his hum is a battery. He sits in his state as a thing made for Alexander. What he bids be done is finished with his bidding. He wants nothing of a god but eternity and a heaven to throne in.
So did he me; and he no more remembers his mother now than an eight-year-old horse. The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes. When he walks, he moves like an engine, and the ground shrinks before his treading. He is able to pierce a corslet with his eye, talks like a knell, and his hum is a battery. He sits in his state as a thing made for Alexander. What he bids be done is finished with his bidding. He wants nothing of a god but eternity and a heaven to throne in.
so did he me; and he no more remembers his mother now than a
Menenius's description of the transformed Coriolanus in 5-4 is one of the play's set pieces, and it lands differently because of what we know: Menenius was just sent away from the Volscian camp with a single word — 'Away!' He came back humiliated. Now he's describing the man who humiliated him with this extraordinary, reluctant poetry. 'Grown from man to dragon' — the chrysalis image (grub to butterfly) applied to something terrifying. The description that follows is all grandeur: machine, artillery, knell, Alexander, god-minus-mortality. Menenius is eulogizing someone who still breathes. The bitterness is there in the edges — 'he no more remembers his mother now than an eight-year-old horse' — but the dominant note is awed sorrow. He is describing a creature he can no longer reach. The male tiger line lands hardest because it comes from someone who loved that tiger. You don't develop that specific a metaphor about someone you've already written off.
Yes, mercy, if you report him truly.
Yes, mercy, if you report him truly.
Yes, mercy, if you report him truly.
yes, mercy, if you report him truly.
I paint him in the character. Mark what mercy his mother shall bring
from him. There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male
tiger. That shall our poor city find, and all this is long of you.
I paint him in the character. Mark what mercy his mother shall bring from him. There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger. That shall our poor city find, and all this is long of you.
I paint him in the character. Mark what mercy his mother shall bring from him. There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger. That shall our poor city find, and all this is long of you.
i paint him in the character. mark what mercy his mother sha
The gods be good unto us.
The gods be good unto us.
The gods be good unto us.
the gods be good unto us.
No, in such a case the gods will not be good unto us. When we banished
him, we respected not them; and he returning to break our necks, they
respect not us.
No, in such a case the gods will not be good unto us. When we banished him, we respected not them; and he returning to break our necks, they respect not us.
No, in such a case the gods will not be good unto us. When we banished him, we respected not them; and he returning to break our necks, they respect not us.
no, in such a case the gods will not be good unto us. when w
Sir, if you’d save your life, fly to your house.
The plebeians have got your fellow tribune
And hale him up and down, all swearing if
The Roman ladies bring not comfort home,
They’ll give him death by inches.
Sir, if you’d save your life, fly to your house. The plebeians have got your fellow tribune And hale him up and down, all swearing if The Roman ladies bring not comfort home, They’ll give him death by inches.
Sir, if you’d save your life, fly to your house. The plebeians have got your fellow tribune And hale him up and down, all swearing if The Roman ladies bring not comfort home, They’ll give him death by inches.
sir, if you’d save your life, fly to your house. the plebeia
What’s the news?
What’s the news?
What’s the news?
what’s the news?
Shakespeare rarely lets political operators off the hook. Brutus and Sicinius spent three acts manipulating the plebeians against Coriolanus — working the crowd, timing their moves, exploiting popular emotion for their own ends. Now the scene opens with Menenius grimly certain Rome is doomed, and within moments a messenger arrives to announce that the plebeians have Brutus and are going to 'give him death by inches' unless the ladies succeed. The instrument of their political ambition has become the instrument of their punishment. This is not coincidence — it's Shakespeare's moral architecture. The tribunes didn't just harm Coriolanus: they established a precedent that mob emotion rules Rome. That emotion has now turned. Sicinius survives (we see him here still), but the scene makes clear how close the line was. The relief that comes with 'Good news, good news!' saves the tribunes as much as it saves Rome.
Good news, good news! The ladies have prevailed.
The Volscians are dislodged and Martius gone.
A merrier day did never yet greet Rome,
No, not th’ expulsion of the Tarquins.
Good news, good news! The ladies have prevailed. The Volscians are dislodged and Martius gone. A merrier day did never yet greet Rome, No, not th’ expulsion of the Tarquins.
Good news, good news! The ladies have prevailed. The Volscians are dislodged and Martius gone. A merrier day did never yet greet Rome, No, not th’ expulsion of the Tarquins.
good news, good news! the ladies have prevailed. the volscia
Friend,
Art thou certain this is true? Is’t most certain?
Friend, Art thou certain this is true? Is’t most certain?
Friend, Art thou certain this is true? Is’t most certain?
friend, art thou certain this is true? is’t most certain?
As certain as I know the sun is fire.
Where have you lurked that you make doubt of it?
Ne’er through an arch so hurried the blown tide
As the recomforted through th’ gates. Why, hark you!
As certain as I know the sun is fire. Where have you lurked that you make doubt of it? Ne’er through an arch so hurried the blown tide As the recomforted through th’ gates. Why, hark you!
As certain as I know the sun is fire. Where have you lurked that you make doubt of it? Ne’er through an arch so hurried the blown tide As the recomforted through th’ gates. Why, hark you!
as certain as i know the sun is fire. where have you lurked
Scene 5-4 is built around a single theatrical effect: the maximum compression of despair before release. Shakespeare front-loads the scene with Menenius's most hopeless poetry — the cornerstone that cannot be moved, the dragon with wings, the male tiger without milk, the gods who won't protect those who disrespected them. He holds this for twelve speeches. Then: a stage direction, a breathless messenger with bad news (Brutus is being mobbed), a pause, another messenger with the reversal ('Good news, good news!'). The structure is a coiled spring. The longer Menenius maintains his convinced despair, the more explosive the release when it finally comes. Notice that Menenius himself barely pauses — he pivots from 'no hope' to 'I will go meet the ladies' in the same breath, and uses the pivot to deliver one final insult to the tribunes. The character reveals himself in the speed of the turn.
This is good news.
I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia
Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians
A city full; of tribunes such as you
A sea and land full. You have prayed well today.
This morning for ten thousand of your throats
I’d not have given a doit. Hark, how they joy!
This is good news. I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians A city full; of tribunes such as you A sea and land full. You have prayed well today. This morning for ten thousand of your throats I’d not have given a doit. Hark, how they joy!
This is good news. I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians A city full; of tribunes such as you A sea and land full. You have prayed well today. This morning for ten thousand of your throats I’d not have given a doit. Hark, how they joy!
this is good news. i will go meet the ladies. this volumnia
First, the gods bless you for your tidings; next, accept my
thankfulness.
First, the gods bless you for your tidings; next, accept my thankfulness.
First, the gods bless you for your tidings; next, accept my thankfulness.
first, the gods bless you for your tidings; next, accept my
Sir, we have all great cause to give great thanks.
Sir, we have all great cause to give great thanks.
Sir, we have all great cause to give great thanks.
sir, we have all great cause to give great thanks.
They are near the city?
They are near the city?
They are near the city?
they are near the city?
Almost at point to enter.
Almost at point to enter.
Almost at point to enter.
almost at point to enter.
We’ll meet them, and help the joy.
We’ll meet them, and help the joy.
We’ll meet them, and help the joy.
we’ll meet them, and help the joy.
The Reckoning
This is the relief valve. Shakespeare has held the audience under enormous tension since Coriolanus marched on Rome. Now we get the news we've been waiting for — and we get it as pure theatre: a scene that moves from Menenius's despairing poetry about dragons to a second messenger practically bouncing through the door with 'Good news, good news!' The architecture is deliberate. The dread has to peak before the release.
If this happened today…
The crisis communications team is waiting in the conference room at midnight. The CEO is telling the board 'there's nothing we can do — this is over.' Then two phone calls come in thirty seconds apart: first, the CFO is getting mobbed by shareholders outside the building; second, the outside counsel calls: 'The settlement went through.' The CEO who was eulogizing the company is suddenly demanding champagne.